South OC - rumbing sounds at night?! (San Clemente, Aliso Viejo: earthquakes, live in)

[taraox]

Ok that's weird that they do it at night, it must suck for people who live really close to the base! I wonder if there's a reason they do it at night as opposed to during the day (I never hear it during the day). I totally wondered about the Disneyland fireworks, the girl at the party in MV suggested that, but I don't think we would be able to hear it all the way in RSM.

[CAVA1990]

From Dana Point we used to be able to hear ships like the USS New Jersey firing on San Clemente Island. It rattled the windows too. Sound can travel pretty far under the right conditions.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by taraox

but then other times it's more quiet and muffled sounding.

That could be the 105mm artillery vs the louder 155mm.

[mzem]

Thanks. Since moving to the OC about a month ago, I wondered what the rumbling was too. The first thing that my wife and I thought was, "earthquake." We found out what those were a couple weeks ago.

[Fontucky]

Movie earthquakes rumble, real ones don't.

[ocdokie]

I wonder if what you're hearing is coming from the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine? I live near Aliso Viejo and hear big-time rumbling on concert nights (usually Friday and Saturday nights, but in the summer they apparently have an extended schedule with more nights). How loud the sound is seems to depend on the band -- when Iron Maiden was there in August, I think it was the loudest I've heard so far.

[ragnarkar]

Some possibilities:

Airplanes
Military Base
Ships
San Onofre nuclear reactor nearby
Minor Earthquake

[Charles]

We've heard it several times around 930. Long time neighbor told me it was Disneyland though I'm pretty sure I've heard it at other times - probably Camp Pendleton. Probably hearing both.

[HarryKerryJr]

Considering the time you hear it, I vote fireworks at Disneyland as that is about the time they do them. Those continuous boom and low rumble goes on for several minutes and sound carries according to atmospheric and weather conditions, which is why you may not hear (so much) one day to another, but the relative quiet at that hours lets you hear it when otherwise you would not. I couldn't figure out that low rumble was until I realized and confirmed it was Disneyland, but I am several miles NORTH. At night, when things are a bit quite, the sound of the train horns are clear as day, yet I am a good TEN MILES from that mainline. It blows my mind how will the sound travels at night with very little competing noise.

[Vary]

The particular sounds the OP heard were definitely Pendleton. They were firing almost every night that week until 1 a.m. They've been restricting it to the daytime this week, I noticed.